


Proximal

by TheIndifferentDroid



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars
Genre: College AU, F/M, Library AU, Mutual Pining, Rebelcaptain - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-01-07 01:45:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12223218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIndifferentDroid/pseuds/TheIndifferentDroid
Summary: Jyn and Cassian meet in college, an unfortunate effect of a clerical error and happenstance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I loved college, and I love libraries, and I love rebelcaptain. So this is all of that. I’ve been reading a ton of modern rebelcaptain AUs and I wanted to take a shot at it. I plan on adding a few more parts in the near future. Feedback is always appreciated. I’ll have a better summary for the whole series one I get a better idea of where it’s going (which I kind of do.) Enjoy!

The door to the study room creaked open, interrupting the otherwise deafening silence. Jyn looked up from her book, shaking her bangs out of her face. 

"Can I help you?" she asked.  

The man that just walked in caught her gaze, then looked around the room and back at a folded piece of paper in his hands. "Oh, I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I - I thought this was 302."

Jyn leaned back in her chair casually, the old wood creaking beneath her weight. She shoved her pen behind her ear and crossed her arms. "It  _is_  302."

The man's lips tugged down at the corners. Keeping a hand on the door, he stepped back and looked up at the doorframe to make sure he had heard her correctly. He had. "I reserved the room for eleven o'clock," he began, shaking his watch down to his wrist to look at it. "And it's actually a little past that. So...." He paused, giving her a chance to understand. 

Jyn stared at him, eyebrows raised. She was going to make him say it. 

He sighed. "So, you need to leave."

"No," Jyn spat, rather confidently. She pulled the pen from behind her ear and leaned forward again over her book. 

She looked up again when she heard the door shut, surprised to see the man in the room, placing his bag on the opposite end of the table. 

"What are you doing?" Jyn asked, miffed. 

"Using the room I reserved."

Jyn couldn't help but notice how he didn't raise his head as he answered her while unpacking his things. He only raised his eyes, looking at her through his eyelashes and past the strands of hair that had fallen into his face. 

"This," Jyn mumbled, "is bullshit." She pushed her chair out abruptly, heading towards the door, where he stood blocking it. She looked him up and down and she stood next to him, waiting for him to move. 

"Where are you going?" he asked, still only eyeing her cheekily, just barely giving her enough room to pass. The room was small, and personal space was scant. 

"To complain," she said, grabbing the door handle. "I'll be right back. Don't steal my shit."

"Wouldn't dare."

Jyn exited the room hurriedly, but came back to catch the door just before it closed, poking only her head into the room. "What's your name?"

He looked up, completely this time, noticing Jyn's green eyes now that he was closer. Even the answer that should have come naturally caught in his throat. "Cas- uh, Cassian. Cassian."

Jyn raised her eyebrows and gave him a silent nod before disappearing down the hall. 

Cassian proceeded to set up his things while Jyn was down the hall. She threw the door open a few minutes later, and he was grateful not to be standing in front of it any longer. 

"They fucking double booked the room! Bloody idiots." She tried to slam the door but the hydraulics fought against her and it closed - less dramatically - at its own pace. 

"I'm not leaving."

Jyn glared at him once she got back to her seat. 

"There's nowhere else to sit," he continued. "It's like everyone remembers the library exists during finals week. There's enough room here for both of us."

"I was here first. It's not my fault they double booked."

He smiled at her and pressed the button to turn on his laptop, the start up chime punctuating his action. "That's good to know."

Jyn huffed as she watched him turn his attention to his computer and his books. She watched how he ran his hand through his hair as he got comfortable. And how he shrugged off his jacket onto the back of the chair. 

He was really going to stay. The nerve. 

She stopped watching before it became obvious he had grabbed her attention. 

"Like I said," Cassian spoke up into the silence, "there's enough room for both of us." He paused, acting distracted, uninterested even. "Unless you're waiting on someone?"

Jyn's head popped up, more quickly than she would have liked. "No. Just you." 

Cassian looked up at her and hummed inquisitively, much to Jyn's embarrassment. She'd hoped he hadn't heard her, that he wasn't actually paying attention. 

She began again. "I mean, I'm not - I wasn't  _waiting_  on you. I'm lonely. Well, not lonely. Alone. By myself." She paused adamantly, frustration escaping her in a breath that was half sigh and half grunt. "Just - just stay. It's fine."

"Thanks," Cassian replied, a knowing smirk interrupting his rugged features. 

"Welcome," Jyn mumbled, hopefully quiet enough for him not to hear. 

"What's your name?"

"Jyn," she said, meeting his gaze. 

"Jyn," Cassian repeated. "Nice to meet you."

They stared at each other in silence a moment too long. 

"Pleasure," Jyn grumbled sarcastically. 

They continued to tolerate each other's company in relative silence, Cassian pecking at his keyboard and Jyn flipping the pages of her book with occasional and unnecessary pen-clicking. 

Cassian nearly asked her to stop, about twenty minutes into it. He'd begun to realize that Jyn very likely wasn't using the pen at the rate she had been clicking it. He peeked up over his laptop to survey the situation. 

Jyn was slouched over the desk, pen in her left hand and the corner of a book page in the other. From what Cassian could tell there were no visible notes on the book or any of the loose pages splayed out in front of her. He made careful note of how Jyn bit the corner of her lip as she concentrated, or furrowed her eyebrows beneath her bangs. She clicked the pen again - six or seven times in rapid succession - and made no attempt to write anything. 

Cassian cleared his throat. 

Jyn shot him a glare from beneath her bangs. "What?" 

"The pen."

Jyn looked down at her hand then back at Cassian. "What about it? Need to borrow it?"

"No. Never mind."

Cassian returned his eyes to his computer screen, running his hand over his mouth to wipe away the smile that threatened to creep across it. 

Jyn must have been more aware of her habit after that; she only managed to annoy Cassian a handful of times over the next two hours. Truthfully, he should have left if it bothered him that much, but he couldn't get himself to leave. He was otherwise enjoying his company. 

Cassian sat back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head, a tired whine squeaking from his throat. Jyn's concentration was broken by the noise, and she looked up, embarrassed she even did so once she noticed how much of his lean form showed through his shirt. Thankfully Cassian's eyes were closed. 

Jyn picked up her phone, pretending to be absorbed by its content, ignoring him even when he cracked his neck and closed his laptop. 

"I'll be right back," he said, his voice strained from being silent for so long. 

Jyn finally had to look at the man, she decided. So she did. 

She bit the inside of her lip to make sure they didn't upturn the way they were wanting to. She only nodded her head in understanding. 

Cassian stood up and opened the door, looking back at her. A toothy grin spread across his face. "And don't -"

"I won't steal your shit," Jyn interrupted, shooing him out of the room with a flick of her wrist. 

As soon as the door shut, Jyn let out a sigh, relaxing her shoulders and letting her chin rest against her book. If Cassian had even taken a second to observe her, he would have seen that Jyn hadn't done a single productive thing since he had intruded. And what was this nervous pen-clicking habit she has apparently picked up? 

With her distraction gone, Jyn attempted to study again, flipping back in her book a couple of chapters to pick up where she last remembered retaining any information. She stuck the pen in her bun for sake keeping and silence. 

"Cassian," she whispered, testing the name on her lips. 

She stared at the top of the page, the words making no meaningful sense as her eyes froze on a fixed spot. "Cassian," she repeated.

Then her own name rang in her head. She remembered how he'd said it, how he had repeated it after her, his accent tugging on the middle of her name, dragging it out in a longer sound. 

Jyn slammed her book closed suddenly. She'd leave, she decided. She had to. This man was a distraction, at best. And if she was going to leave, she had to do it now. 

Although if she left, would he be suspicious? Would he check and double-check his things, making sure everything was accounted for? He had left her to keep watch, essentially. Should she stay to make sure no one else barged in to take his things? 

Jyn stared at the wall, her book and papers scattered on the desk under light fingertips itching to pick them up. She ran the scenarios through her head. None of them seemed agreeable. Jyn, of all people, had never encountered such difficulty in escaping any given social situation. She was well versed in the Irish goodbye, would somehow find a way to leave a hook up even if they had crashed at her place, and she surely had no issues telling anyone "no."

But somehow her body wasn't listening to her mind today, and soon enough the time for decision-making had passed. The doorknob clicked and Jyn quickly opened her book, making a point not to look at Cassian as he entered and acting as nonchalant as she could. Soon his figure got closer to her side of the table and she had to acknowledge him.

"For your trouble," Cassian said, handing Jyn a cup of coffee. When she didn't take it, he set it down in front of her and began fishing for something in his pocket with the free hand. "I don't know how you like it," he said, placing small creamers and sugar packets on the table, "so I got a little bit of everything."

Cassian stood there for a second as he waited for a response. When he didn't get one, he walked away, his eyes trailing back to watch her as he did. 

Jyn could only stare at the coffee. The little brown cardboard cup of warmth and kindness. She couldn't even wrap her mind around what would cause someone to do that. And to do that for someone who had been downright abrasive, as she knew she had been. 

The wooden chair creaked as he finally sat down. "Do you not drink coffee?" 

"No," Jyn answered quickly. "Yes. Of course I drink coffee." She looked up at him, finally managing to pull her eyes away from his gift. Her mouth curled at the corners, just slightly. "Thank you."

Cassian didn't reply, but his eyes wrinkled at their corners as he took a sip of his own coffee, where Jyn was sure a smile was hidden. 

A handful of minutes passed in silence, a little less awkward this time around. Cassian finally spoke up after some shuffling on his side of the table. "I have to go to class," he said. He didn't need to explain himself to her, but he felt the need in chest to do so now. 

Jyn watched him as he packed up his things, slipping his jacket on last before throwing his messenger bag across his body. He grabbed his coffee before opening the door.

"Oh, and by the way. You're a very good liar," he said.

Jyn stared at him and the smile that dared to cross his face. She tried not to think of how the terror flooded across her own. 

"I checked with the front desk. They didn't double book this room." Cassian paused, giving Jyn time to respond, but he continued sheepishly after a brief silence. "I, uh, booked it again tomorrow. Same time. If you'd like to join me."

Jyn was just as speechless as she was from the coffee. She hated how her face felt flushed, hated how her words evaded her. Bodhi would have been pleased to know that there was someone who could silence Jyn, who could say something immune to her lightning-fast quips. Bodhi would not be hearing about this. 

"Oh, and I only have the room for another ten minutes." Cassian stopped in the doorway, only half turning his body back towards the room. He did that thing again, the move where he dips his head and glances upwards with his dark eyes. Jyn hated it. "So, you might want to leave with me. I doubt the next guy will be so forgiving. Or have coffee." He cracked a smile at his last statement. 

Jyn packed her bag as quickly as she could without acting too thrilled to leave with him. Her mind fought between calling him a smug bastard and the nicest man she'd ever met. When he held the door open for her and she brushed past him, she decided on the latter, but argued he could surely be both. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jyn and Cassian meet again, not without distraction.

Jyn had joined Cassian the following day, same room, same time. She'd been nervous about it all morning but was able to talk herself down as she climbed the stairs. Maybe it was how her hands and feet were finally thawing from the cold that made her feel better, warmer in her chest and her gut.  

However, embarrassment washed over her the second she had opened the door – depressing the handle with her elbow and kicking it open with her boot, hands full. The room was blanketed with the smell of coffee, fresh coffee, confirmed by two cups on the table, one by Jyn's side of the table and one by Cassian, who was visible only once the door had shut. 

A surprisingly unbashful grin crossed his face. "Morning."

"Hi," Jyn responded, flustered. "I, uh..." She held out a hand to him. "Brought coffee too. Sorry."

He rejected her apology, taking the coffee anyway. Cassian waited for their fingers to graze. Jyn did her best to avoid it. 

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Yea. Well, neither did you. So..." Jyn trailed off as she took her seat at what was apparently established as her side of the table. Jyn ignored how the rushed familiarity of it made her chest sink a little.

It was quieter this time. Cassian had traded his laptop for a stack of notes, so there was less clicking and more shuffling. Both of them noticed the absence of the minute barrier between them today. Jyn managed to get some studying done, however. She was less likely to glance at him without the protection the laptop had afforded her.

Jyn never bothered herself with the corporeal distractions of a college student's life. Relationships and late nights out weren't her thing. Hook ups, she found, didn't take too much of her time, though, so she allowed it. Studying didn't come easily to her. She scraped by during the semester, testing off of what her short-term memory was able to give her, and committed herself to the life of a hermit during final exams, cramming her brain with any information it would take. Like now.

But with four exams left, and it being only Tuesday, Jyn's outlook was bleak. And it was all Cassian's fault. 

At least that's what she told herself. 

The time passed in nearly the same fashion as it had the day before. There was just more coffee this time around. And slightly more conversation. 

Cassian cleared his throat, after about an hour of silence. "What are you studying?" His voice was hesitant, deep and unused, but he couldn't help his interest.  

"Hm?" Jyn asked, looking up. It wasn't that she hadn't heard him – she had. She was more confused he had even asked.

Cassian's eyes were inquisitive, relaxed. And warm. Jyn caught herself staring before slamming her book shut to snap herself out of it. She stood the book upright and turned it to face Cassian. "Brit Lit," she said, with little inflection in her voice. 

"Oh," Cassian remarked, in a sarcastic tone Jyn had only yesterday found grating. "Tantalizing."

Jyn let the book fall onto its face. The noise shook the small room. "Hey. Watch it."

Cassian leaned back casually in his chair, crossing his arms. "I'm sorry. You didn't seem like you were enjoying it."

"I'm an English major," Jyn said, opening her book again. "I'm supposed to enjoy it. I'm just having trouble doing that... right now."

Jyn wasn’t lying. Not really. Memorizing lines of _The Canterbury Tales_ that she had barely remembered reading in the first place was not enjoyable. Though anything would have trouble vying for her attention with this beautiful man sitting in front of her.

That’s what he was, wasn’t he? Beautiful?

_Fuck._

It seemed Cassian was a mind reader of sorts, and ceased the conversation after that exchange, returning to his papers. Jyn opened her book again, attempting, yet again, to retain the line-for-line memorizations.

The next two hours passed with fairly awkward silence. Despite the unfamiliarity of it all, Jyn found it surprising how easily Cassian had situated himself into her life. She found it even more surprising how _okay_ she was with it. She couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed the quiet presence of anyone other than Bodhi.

Jyn’s head snapped up from her book at the sound of a knock at the door. Her eyes were tired; she felt as if she hadn’t looked at anything but the fine print of her book in hours, which was likely true. She blinked a few times to focus on Cassian’s face and imagined the surprised look on his face mirrored hers. Before either of them could stand up, the door opened. 

A random student poked his head in. "Hey, no rush, but I have the room next."

Cassian stole a quick glance at his watch before clamoring to his feet. He cursed under his breath, something unfamiliar. He swung his bag over his shoulder, draped his jacket over his arm and scooped up the papers in the other. 

Jyn had barely closed her book before Cassian was swinging the door open to walk out. Disappointment pulled in Jyn’s chest, but Cassian turned just before letting go of the door. A hurried smile crossed his face.

“See you, Jyn.”

There were no promises of the room being shared again the next day.

Jyn tried to book the room herself once she left, but it wasn't available. When questioned, the receptionist denied that it was booked by someone named Cassian.

 

 

“Jyn!”

Jyn stopped short just outside the elevator, spinning around to search for who had whispered-shouted her name. The scene was dizzying. There were too many people in the library coffee shop to pick out where it had emanated. 

"Jyn! Over here!" Bodhi stood up and waved his hand, Jyn shuffling over to him through the crowd to take a seat. 

"Where have you been?" he asked. 

"Studying," Jyn said, her tone matter of fact. 

Bodhi shot her a glance before he took a sip of his coffee. "Where exactly? This place is packed."

Jyn fiddled with the pen in her hair, avoiding Bodhi's gaze. 

"Don't tell me you snuck into a study room again."

Jyn raised her eyes long enough to meet Bodhi's before they fell to the ground again.

"You know," he said, making a scene out of his books and papers strewn on the small table, "you could invite me next time. This environment isn't exactly conducive to studying."

Jyn bit her lip, choosing her next words wisely. "I, uh, couldn't invite you. It's rude for a guest to bring someone else."

Bodhi looked up from his notes, his eyebrows furrowed tightly. "Spill."

Jyn stood up quickly. "There's nothing to talk about. I have to go."

Bodhi grabbed her arm. "I know you don't have class until three o'clock. Sit."

Jyn huffed, but ultimately heeded Bodhi's request, plopping back into the seat dramatically. She began her story before Bodhi could ask specific questions, hoping to get ahead of any ideas he may have had. "So yesterday-"

"Yesterday?!" Bodhi interrupted excitedly. 

Jyn only shot him a glance, one he knew all too well. 

"Sorry. Continue." He gestured to her respectfully. 

Jyn paused to give Bodhi a moment to collect himself before starting again. "I found an unlocked room yesterday, and it was fine all morning until some asshole showed up. I played the whole double-booked scenario. And he bought it."

She paused. Bodhi raised his eyebrows. "Until..."

Jyn groaned, running her hand across her face. "Until he left to get coffee. And he checked with the front desk. And he called me out."

Bodhi's laugh echoed through the small cafe, and he quickly covered his mouth, whispering a quick "Sorry" when eyes darted his way. 

"Oh, Jyn." Bodhi paused, taking a deep breath to rid himself of any residual laughter. "That's –"

"But he invited me back and bought me a coffee," Jyn interrupted, hoping to get the rest of the story out quickly without drawing any more attention to it. "So he obviously wasn't that upset. So that's where I was. Studying."

It was quiet for a moment, and Jyn distracted herself with her backpack. Bodhi had seemed to be satisfied with the story. At least that's what Jyn presumed. 

"Studying?" he asked, unconvinced. 

Jyn slowly looked up at Bodhi, and his face said all Jyn needed to know. A lopsided smirk was creeping its way across his lips.

"Bodhi, no," she said, exasperated. 

"Studying," Bodhi repeated, this time with added gestures to punctuate his tone, his fingers curling dramatically in the air. 

"I'm leaving," Jyn declared flatly, grabbing her things. "Goodbye."

As she walked away, she heard Bodhi call after her, chiding her not to study too hard.

The quad outside the library was quiet, final exams scaring some sanctity into the campus for once. Jyn could appreciate that. The bitter wind also did its best to keep everyone inside. The cold bit at Jyn's neck briefly before she threw her scarf snugly around her, wrapping it around as many times as its length would allow. 

Jyn headed a course for her next class in a hall across campus. She was early, but she'd camp out on the cold tile floor just outside the door like she was wont to do. At the very least she could glean some last minute information from her notes before taking her exam. It was Linguistics, which Jyn had absorbed generously over the course of the semester. The final did little to worry her. 

Half way across the quad, it started to drizzle, the cold, almost misty rain prickling delicately on Jyn's face, the only part of her still exposed to the elements. She cursed under her breath and ducked into a nearby hall, already planning her reroute through campus. She could building hop from here; it wouldn't be too difficult. 

The wind slammed the door shut just behind her, and Jyn felt a slight push on her backpack before she hopped out of the way. The hall was stifling, the air unmoved while the bodies of the students occupied the classrooms instead of the hall. Jyn tugged the scarf away from her neck, feeling suddenly suffocated, and began through the building. She was acutely aware of the squeak of her boots against the tile, just barely wet from the beginning of the rain. 

Some doors were open in the classrooms, and the sounds of zippers and shuffling paper poured into the hall. The nervousness was palpable, the quietness explaining exams had begun, and little whispers of last minute questions had ceased. It was strangely comforting to be on the other side, albeit momentarily. 

A voice echoed into the hallway and met Jyn's ears. It was down the hall, she could tell, and softly grew louder as she proceeded. 

"... books away, please. If you do not know it by now, it is too late."

Jyn chuckled under her breath, the phrase familiar to her. She had heard it her fair share of times over the last three and a half years. 

As she passed the room, a student spoke up. "Mr. Andor -"

"No, no more questions."

Jyn's steps ended in one harsh squeak of her boots, stopping just on the other side of the open door. That voice. It sounded familiar, recent.

It sounded like Cassian. 

Jyn stood frozen with her shoulder against the wall, clinging tightly to the side of the hallway. She waited to hear anything else, but it was silent, save for what sounded like someone writing on the chalkboard. 

Just as she had convinced herself to walk past the room again to take a look, the door shut. 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr at [TheIndifferentDroid](https://theindifferentdroid.tumblr.com/) and come say hi!


End file.
